If you're looking for a skull ring, we don't need to tell you how badass and attention-grabbing they are. You probably don't need to know the history of skulls to understand how important this symbol is to the motorcycle community. What we'd like to highlight is materials used to craft skulls since they add an additional significance, let alone affect the appearance of your ring and its wearability.
Centavos-Made Mexican Skull Rings
The very first biker skull rings to be exact Mexican Rings - appeared in the middle of the XX century. The devastating aftermath of the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) is the horrendous inflation that devalued the national currency. Coins (centavos) simply lost their value as a means of payment. With a bunch of worthless coins in their pocket, people started looking for alternative ways to use them. Artisans, for example, began to melt coins and utilize them to make crafts such as rings. Eventually, these rings crossed the border with the USA and caught bikers' eyes. This was a match made in heaven.
Original Mexican/biker rings were 100% handmade and carried a slightly yellowish hue. That's because Centavos featured brass, copper, and nickel in their composition. You still can buy some of these vintage rings on E-bay or elsewhere. For better or worse, nobody produces such designs anymore. That's why they have significance as collectibles.
Silver Biker Rings
Since original Centavo alloys aren't available anymore (unless someone decides to mix metals in their garage), the next best thing is silver. To be more exact, sterling silver. The noble metal has been known for millennia, and once it was valued more than gold. Today, we consider silver to be metal for males, although originally, it was associated with the moon, and the moon is a patron saint of ladies. Be that as it may, silver is the most common metal in men's skull jewelry, and all for good reasons: it is unpretentious yet noble, resilient, easy to maintain, as well as with high aesthetic and artistic value.
When it comes to biker jewelry, silver allows creating complex designs and voluminous images. Due to blackening, it can sport a dark finish, which looks great when being contrasted by pale polished surfaces. Silver looks awesome when being complemented with gemstones, enamel, or wood inlays. Silver jewelry is equally attractive in larger-than-life and modest sizes. So it comes as no surprise at all that silver is a perfect choice for biker rings, jewelry, and accessories.
Brass
If you prefer vintage-looking jewelry that emulates historical designs, brass is your best bet. At first, it offers a rust-slash-orange-ish finish, which acquires a noble bluish patina over time. Brass is a hard and resilient metal but it is not as versatile as silver. You may find it hard to combine your brass skulls with other pieces of jewelry or your outfits. Brass creates an organic union with gems of a warm color range (red, orange, yellow, etc.) but it often clashes with cold colors. If you're not scared of these challenges, brass is going to be an excellent addition to your biker style.
Gold
Gold is not the first choice in terms of skull rings. It is too pretentious let alone too expensive to craft large and heavy pieces. Still, if you look hard enough, you will be able to find gold items. More often than not, these are gold-plated and intended only for special occasions. It is not uncommon to blend silver and gold finishes in the same piece of jewelry for the sake of eye-pleasing contrasts. That being said, gold has little to no chance to become a go-to metal for biker fashion.
Stainless Steel
Stainless still, on the contrary, is one of the most popular options when shopping for biker jewelry. Visually, steel possesses the same vibe as silver, plus a number of extra benefits: it never tarnishes or rusts, it is fairly hard, easy to care for, and is very affordable. On the downside, stainless steel lacks a touch of luxury. Such jewelry feels rather disposable since it carries little value. It is designed for motorcyclists on a budget, for biker wannabes, so to say.
Contemporary Metals
Not yet all the rage, but titanium and tungsten carbide jewelry is gaining momentum. These contemporary high-tech metals introduce some new advantages in comparison to traditional options. For instance, titanium is very lightweight yet durable. It is a perfect choice for everyday wear, especially if you enjoy simplistic designs. Tungsten carbide is the hardest metal used to craft jewelry, and it is the most scratch-resistant. Unfortunately, it is on the brittle side, which is not the best quality considering the rigors of the motorcycle lifestyle.
Final Thoughts
When shopping for biker jewelry, the first thing you should consider is whether you actually ride a motorcycle. If that's the case, your focus ought to be on durability. If you need a ring for solely decorative purposes, an aesthetic aspect may prevail over wearability. Either way, we wish you to find a ring that meets your wants and needs to a T.
